Archives for October 2012

As the early vote begins in Texas, it is already underway in many states across America. Now is the time for us not to just get out the vote enough to win, but to bring all of our votes to the polls to send a clear message to our government. Many areas of Texas are solid red in our votes. But, in some of our largest counties we have gone anywhere from purple to solid blue. Many local races were lost by Republicans with the slimmest of margins. Sometimes only a few votes separated a Republican victory or loss in recent elections. This is a trend you can stop!

Dallas County went blue several years ago and in 2008 President Obama washed a sea of blue votes across Harris County and swept out many well qualified judges in the process. In 2010 we moved back to the right, but despite a wave of Republican victories across Texas, Harris County voted for Democrat Bill White over Republican Rick Perry. At this point, Harris County is dark purple and just a few votes could make a difference on many of our down ballot races.

This year was a very odd election cycle. Democrats protested our redistricting and extended our primaries and run-off election through July. We have not had the time for post-primary healing and party unity building that occurs after most primary seasons. We must come together today, as a party, and drive home the message of conservative values by electing our entire slate of candidates across Texas and especially here in Harris County.

During a recent event at King Street Patriots, I spoke with several of our judicial candidates about their races as well as two judges, one who won in 2008 by the slimmest of margins and one who lost by just a few votes. Judge Tad Halbach is a Civil Court Judge on the 333rd Civil District Court. Out of over 1 million votes cast in the 2008 election, he won his race by 230 votes. Imagine what would have happened if just a few more Republicans had stayed home because we all knew McCain was going to carry Texas anyway!

Tattooed Democrat Judge Kevin Fine

Two of our outstanding judges, Brock Thomas of the 338th Criminal District Court and Devon Anderson of the 177th Criminal District Court were swept out by highly unqualified judges with a slim margin of about 2 percentage points. Anderson was replaced by the now infamous Judge Kevin Fine who verbally castigated a rape victim in open court after her rapist had been convicted and then went on and later declared Texas’ death penalty to be unconstitutional. Do you think a few votes might have made a difference here? Listen below as Judges Halbach and Thomas talk about the importance of your vote in these elections.

Judge Thomas is back on the ballot for criminal district court judge this election cycle along with former judge Roger Bridgwater (also unseated in the 2008 wave by a very close margin). Also joining them on the ballot are several immensely qualified candidates for criminal court judge including Renee Magee who has served the Harris County District Attorney’s office for nearly twenty years; Judge Ryan Patrick who was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to replace the aforementioned Judge Kevin Fine, and Judge Mark Kent Ellis; current prosecutor Brad Hart and former prosecutors Stacey Bond, Robert Summerlin and Kristin Guiney.

Judge Halback is seeking re-election for his position on the 333rd Civil District Court. He is joined on the ballot by Judge Ken Wise; former judges Elizabeth Ray (who lost in 2008 by only 400 votes) and Russell Lloyd; and a host of outstandingly qualified candidates including former Tax Court Judge and double board certified, thirty-five year lawyer Michael Landrum; Bruce Bain, Jeff Hastings, Richard Risinger, John Coselli, Lamar McCorkle, John Wittenmyer (running against Democrat Judge Michael Englehart who said the happiest day of his life was the day Obama came out for Gay Marriage), Don Self, Bud Wiesedeppe, and Ken Shortreed. I mentioned Ken last because, as he loves to say, “It’s a long ballot, but a Shortreed at the bottom!”

Democrats are being stirred up to vote. The Houston Chronicle has been providing cover for Democrats like County Attorney Vince Ryan and Sheriff Adrian Garcia.They showed a total lack of credibility by endorsing the opponent of one of our best qualified and most conservative candidates, Justice Brett Busby, candidate for the 14th Court of Appeals Place 3. Justice Busby clerked for not one, but two U.S. Supreme Court Justices (Byron White and John Paul Stevens) and has argued and briefed cases before that court on many occasions. Perhaps the Chronicle believes Justice Busby is well on his way to a future appointment as a conservative justice on that great court.

In our county civil courts we also have two outstanding incumbents running for re-election. Judge Theresa Chang previously served the people of Harris County as the District Clerk before moving to the County Court #2 bench. Judge Debra Ibarra Mayfield was appointed to County Court #1 late last year and has done a great job in this position for the people of Harris County.

Bond issues are also working against us by bringing out traditional Democrat voters. Metro also has a proposition to try and take more of your sales tax dollars for toy trains. Vote yes on the Metro issue to stop them from taking money away from street repair. There is also a city council race which could increase the Democrat vote in parts of the city. We cannot sit back and count on a Romney wave to sweep our candidates into office. We must get out our vote!

The Federal Courts have put Voter ID law, you worked so hard for many years to get passed, on hold – allowing Democrats to continue their usual tactics of voter fraud and improper registration in full force. FortunatelyTrue the Vote will put forth a small army of well-trained election officials and poll watchers to keep a watchful eye out for fraud. But we will still need every vote we can get to achieve our victory and send the proper message to Washington and Austin.

We have a great slate of Republican candidates up and down the ballot and the Democrats have gone a long way to give us even more reasons to vote STRAIGHT REPUBLICAN! Just look at the District Attorney’s race where an outstandingly qualified former criminal court judge, Mike Anderson faces off against a laughable Democrat Lloyd Oliver, who thinks domestic violence is sexual foreplay and that prosecutors should be hired by their bust size. The Houston Chronicle showed some political honesty through Patti Hart’s chastising article “Domestic Violence is a Serious Issue, Mr. Oliver“. The Houston Press wrote about the self-proclaimed “Tea Party Democrat” Lloyd Oliver. The article details the eccentricities of Oliver including his bedroom wall adorned with a plastic pair of breasts and panty draped buttocks.

Ted Cruz Grassroots Victory Celebration 2012

Our U.S. Senate candidate, Ted Cruz, fired up the grass roots voters of Texas to come out in the heat of a July run-off election and put him on the November ballot. Can we keep that level of excitement through this election and send a Senator Cruz to D.C. to work for the reforms we demand? Carry that energy and excitement to the polls and vote for all of our down ballot candidates!

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia is just one of the Democrat officials being protected by County Attorney Vince Ryan. Garcia has a string of failures in his office and we will be well served by replacing him with a very strongly qualified candidate, Louis Guthrie!

Elections have consequences. We cannot afford the consequences of Democrats winning or keeping some of these critical down ballot races. We have a great opportunity to not only win a decisive victory for conservatives but to send a message of real change across our state. It starts with you.

Vote today and then spend the next two weeks talking to your friends and neighbors. Get them to the polls. Find every like-minded registered voter you can and make sure they vote. Some of these races may well be decided by just a few votes. Make sure you don’t leave any votes at home that could have made the difference. I am voting today! See you at the polls…

Perhaps the most lawless act of the Obama Presidency has been its role in Operation Fast and Furious. The National Rifle Association (NRA) has been out front in keeping this story in the public’s eye. While in Washington, DC, last month, I spoke with NRA Spokesperson Jacqueline Otto about Fast and Furious. She told me the NRA got “furious fast over Fast and Furious“.

Operation Fast and Furious first came to public attention shortly after the murder of US Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered during a firefight with Mexican gangsters in December of 2010. In the video below, I talk with Otto about the anti-gun agenda of the Obama Administration and how they created Fast and Furious to create a crisis in order to further their gun-control plans.

Sharyl Attkisson, CBS News

Otto acknowledged TexasGOPVote’s role in reporting this scandal early on and keeping the story alive until picked up nationally by CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson. Senator Charles Grassley and HouseOversight Committee Chairman Daryl Issa led the way for Congressional investigations leading to Contempt of Congress charges being levied against Eric Holder for his refusal to provide subpoenaed documents Congress required to carry out its Constitutionally mandated role of oversight.

On the political agenda of the Obama Administration, Otto explained, “Almost from the beginning there was a chorus of Administration officials using the term ‘90% of the firearms that were used in Mexican violence”. 90% of firearms they said were coming from America.”

Otto continued, “What they didn’t tell us was that they were the ones sending them there – through Operation Fast and Furious. And, when that story came to light through the murder of Brian Terry and through the hundreds of Mexican citizens who have been murdered through this violence.”

The proof of the gun control agenda soon followed. Otto explained, “They used the 90% figure to justify their new regulatory schemes, their new registration requirements and forcing these federally licensed firearms dealers that are in the border states to jump through more hoops, and do more paperwork and follow more requirements when they weren’t the ones at fault.”

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Many of the firearms dealers in Arizona and Texas asked to not participate in this program – fearing violence and death would result from this. They were coerced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE, or ATF) to continue their participations. This was revealed in one of Senator Grassley’s earliest reports.

In my Feb, 2010 article titled, Agent Brian Terry Murder – DOJ Adds to the Cover-up, I wrote, “The licensed gun dealer who sold the weapons allegedly recovered at the scene of Agent Terry’s murder met with the ATF and the Assistant US Attorney as early as December 2009 to discuss his role as a licensed dealer during this investigation. Avila was allowed to continue his purchases, including two .50 caliber rifles as late as June 2010.”

The investigation continues despite an internal DOJ Inspector General report which whitewashed Attorney General Eric Holder’s involvement in Fast and Furious. Ask yourself this, if Holder and Obama are not directly involved, how and why did Obama give Holder Executive Privilege on this scandal?